Method for producing designs in furs



NOV. 26, 1929. F, w HQRSTMANN I 1,737,086

METHOD FOR PRODUCING DESIGNS IN FURS Original Filed Sept. 22, 1925 INVENTOR FT wHoRsTNA/wy ATTORNEYS latented Nov. 26, 1929 more srarns orrics METHOD FOR PRODUCING DESIGNS IN FURS Original application filed September 22, 1925, Serial No. 57,824. Divided and this application filed April 27, 1926.

This application is a division of my application Serial No. 57,824, filed September 22, 1925'.

The present invention relates to a method of producing novel and ornamental patterns fabrication into wearing apparel, it is desirtion.

able to produce attractive and ornamental effects. The appearance of fur for use as garments or other purposes has heretofore been confined to improving the fur to bring out the natural lustre and other desirable qualities by various treatments including dyeing, plucking and shearing, all of which have been performed in various manners.

The present invention may include all of the various well known steps to bring out the pleasing qualities of the fur and in addition makes it possible to produce a surface of distinct pattern of permanent, definite and predetermined design, embodying, if desired, a color effect as well.

One method of producing a patterned pelt is to manipulate a shearing'or other cutting machine so as to shear the fur in alternate strips or patches of predetermined configura- That is to sa a shearing machine may be operated in such manner that the fur may be shorn and left long and short alternately. This operation not only results in a novel and pleasing design in so far as a short and long nap is concerned, but may produce a two color surface, since in a great many skins the fur close to the hide is distinctly different incolor from that near the ends. Or, if desired, the fur may be dyed to produce different color effects. For er;- ample, the fur may be dyed a light color with the ends thereof a different and distinctive color so that when the fur is sheared in accordance with my invention a differential color scheme or design may be produced. Also the fur, after being cut in accordance with the herein described invention, may have the tips of the longer hairs or fur dyed a distinctive color from the remainder of the fur.

This general idea may be carried out to Serial No. 105,634.

give many variations, such for example as producing a gradual dark to light surface Where the fur next to the hide is lighter than the surface. In other cases the shearing ma chine may be controlled to cut the fur so that portionsof the surface of a skin will have fur gradually increasing length from the center of said portions to the border edges of the long fur. On the other hand, the shorter fur may be of uniform height producing a distinct and clearly marked contrast to the long fur.

An object of the present invention is, therefore, to produce fur products having the surface of a pleasing and predetermined pattern.

Another object of the invention is to provide a pelt having portions of the fur removed to produce a design.

Another object of the invention is to utilize the variation in color between the surface and base of the fur on a pelt and to expose the lower portions of the fur in a pleasing and ornamental manner.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method of producing a pattern upon a pelt.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method whereby a pelt may be shorn to give a patterned surface.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following description is read.

As an example of a practical embodiment of means whereby my invention may be practiced, I may employ a fur shearing machine such as that disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 7,671, filed February 7, 1925 provided with a reciprocable or floating conveyor for feeding the pelt to the cutters.

The movable conveyor may be advanced to permit a shearing operation or retreated to permit aporticn of a pelt to pass unshorn, or if desired the machine may be so adjusted as to cut the fur into gradually increasing and decreasing lengths so as to produce thereon in effect permanent Marcel Waves. This operation may be automatic, thus a pelt when conveyed past the cutters Will have the fur formed into a pleasing design. The spacmounted ing of tits waves, their depth and height and arrangement with respect to eachv other may be varied within wide limits and therefore a great variety of designs may be obtainec, such, for instance, as a wide strip and a narrow strip, equal-strips, adjacent wide strips of short and long fur with intermediate strips of either long or short iur, intersecting waves, waves of sinuous formation, and the like. These effects are readily produced by suitable cam or other machine elements which control the movement ofthe conveyor.

A machine by means of which a skin may have the fur removed in accordance with my invention is more clearly shown in the accompanying drawing in which;

Fig. l a side view lllElQVfllllOilDf a machine embodying my invention and is partly shown in section where cross-hatched.

g. 2 is a fragmentary detail view showngan eccentric or cam action to reciprocate conveyor toand from the knives. rigs. 3, i and 5 are diagramamtic representative views,m transversecross-section, of

skins having the tur shear d to produce ditferent pa terns.

Fig. 6 illustrates a fur having transverse out out portions, and

Fig. 7 is-a section taken on line VIIVH in 6 and shows an undulatory formation ofthe fur.

The machine illustrated for practicing the method and producing my novel fur may comprise a suitable frame 10 to support the several operative parts 01 the machine.

Fur-shearing mechanism 11 may be positionedat the top ortable portion of the frame 10 and may include a rotary cutter 12 and a bed-knife 13. The rotary cutter 'may be on a shaft 14 journalled in suitable bearings at opposite sides thereof, the bearings being integralwith a bedplate 15 secured by tap bolts 16 to the top of the frame 10 and the bed knife may be adjustably secured in any suitable manner to a post integral with the bed plate 15. A housing 18 may enclose the cue rs and an outlet 19 maybe connected to a blower or other vacuum creating device (not shown) to remove sheared fur in the usual manner and to assist in bringing the fur l etwcen the cutting knives.

The shaft 142 iay-be-provided with a pulley 2]connected by a belt 22 to apulley 28 rotatable with a shaft 2%- journalled in suitable bearings provided in the frame 10. The shaft 24 may be provided with a driving pulley (not shown) for association with any suitable source of energy as for example a motor, also not shown. Thus it will be evident that means may be provided to effect a rotation of the rotary cutter 12, the speed of this cutter being in accordance with the ratios of the vadriving memoer of the machine and is also released from contact with the skin.

provided with a pulley 25 to drive other mechanism as will presently be described.

The mechanism for conveying a skin to the knives may be of the same general construction as that shown in the above mentioned copending application, and may in clude a bearing bracket 26 comprising a pair of side'plates 28 disposed at opposite sides of the machineand suitably held in .tixed relation to serve as supports for rollers 31 and 32 mounted on shafts 03 and 34C res Jectivel the latter being journalled in the side. plates 27 and 28. The rollers 31 and 32 in conyunction with a canvas belt or apron constitute a conveyor which as a whole is designated by the numeral 36. The shaft 33 is journalled in adjustable bearings 33, having slot and bolt connections 34; to the plates 28, set screws e15 beingprovidcd to cause an adjustmentot the roller 31 to tighten or slacker. the belt 35 when the bolts of said connections 34: are loosened. Any other suitable means torapplying or r moving tension from the belt may, however, be employed.

its a skin is fed to the cutters by'the conveyor it is held in firm contact with the conveyor bv pr are members comprising a plurality or short rollers 37 rotatable at the end of arms 38 pivoted on a cross rod 39 mounted in extended portions ll of the plates 28.

iiprings 42 serve to maintain the rollers 37 against the fur to hold'the same'tirmly against the -belt'35. The rollers may be disposed end to endtransversely or the path of movement ot-the fur and provide a continuous flexible .presser element to allow for local variations a shaft 47 which may be secured in the side plates 27 and 28. The opposite arm l8 of each of the lovers 46 may be engaged by a helical spring 4-9, the opposite end of which may be secured tothe side plates 27 and 28. The roller as so that when desired the spring 49 may be disengaged with the lovers and the roler apron or belt 35' of the conveyor may be provided with any suitable means for holding skins r delivery to the knives. The

present construction oi a conveyor belt is shown with oockets 51 into which an end or" a skin may be inserted by an operator feedmounted on said lever arms ing the machine, so that the skin may be "ioo positively passed beneath the rollers 37 and in operative relation to the knives.

lhe above description is generally the same as that set forth in the hereinbefore mentioned copending application, said machine operating to merely uniformly shear the fur of a skin.

The present invention, however, provides means for moving the conveyor 36 to and from the shearing mechanism 11 to produce a skin with the fur sheared at spaced intervals, as shown in Fig. 7. As will be noted by the example shown, the strips represent :t'ur leiit long or unshorn while the strips 5% represent shorn portions of the fur.

ll hen employing a machine, as shown, to practice the present invention, 1 mount the conveyor 36 on rocker arms 55 and 56, mount- 1 described hereinafter.

ed at opposite sides of the bracket 26 and the frame 10. The upper ends of the arms may be secured by bolts 55 to the plates 27 and 28 of the bearing bracket 26, thus providing a floating or reciprocable conveyor. The bolts 55' may pass through slots 27 to permit a tilting adjustment of the end of the conveyor adjacent the cutters. The lower ends of the arms may be pivoted upon a shalt mounted in bearings 58 integral with the frame 10. An oscillatory movement is imparted to the rocker arms by means of cam members 59, on a shaft 61, by engagement with rollers 62 mounted on levers or secondary rocker arms 63 pivoted in extensions Gl. The levers 63 may be connected by links 65 to curved portions 66, having the axis of the shaft 61 as a center, of the rocker arms 55 and 56. The extent of the in and out motion of the conveyor 36 may be adjusted by disposing the ends of the links over the openings 67 in the curved portions of the rocker arms and connccting the same together, a slot 67 being provided in the end of the link 65 to facilitate this adjusnnent. A spring 68 may be provided for each oi the rocker arms 63 to hold the rollers 62 in contact with the cams 59.

The shalt 6i may be mounted in bearings 69 carried on adjustable bearing plates 71 ivote-"l in bearings 72 at opposite sides oil th :l'rame and which will be more fully The bearing plate may be adjusted by bolts 70 passing through 70 of the plates and threaded into the frame 10, locking nuts 70 being provided to lock the plates in adjusted position. The sha'i't 61 upon which the cams 09 are mounted may be provided with a pulley 73 connected by a belt 7a to pulley 25, which latter is driven as hereiubeliore described, motion thus being imparted to the cams to actuate the conveyor to and from the cutting mechanism.

Continuous movement of the conveyor belt may be provided in the following manner. The bearing plate 71 may be provided with an adjustable bearing 7 5 held by a bolt 76 which passes through a slot in a foot piece of said adjustable hearing. A shaft 77 mounted in bearing 75 is provided with a sprocket wheel 78 and a spur gear 79. The spur gear is disposed in mesh with another gear wheel 81 secured to shaft 61. Motion is translated from the shaft 61 through gears 81 and 79, the gear '79 causing a rotation of the shaft '7'? upon which the sprocket wheel is mounted. A chain 82 may connect the sprocket 78 with another sprocket 83 secured to the shaft 57 .vhich is thus revolved. Adjacent the sprocket 83 may be secured another sprocket 84 over which chain 85 leads to a sprocket 86 secured to the shaft 83 to which roller 31 of the conveyor 35 is fastened, motion being thus transmitted from the shaft 61 to the conveyor.

An idler 87 may be provided to take up slack in the chain 82 and adjustable or tension idler 88 may be provided to hold the chain 85 taut, tension being applied by means of spring 89 and lever 91.

As illustrated in Fig. 2 an in and out motion may be imparted to the conveyor 36 by eccentries 92 mounted on the shaft 31, the eccentrics engaging circular apertures 93 provided in special links I By reason of the various adjustments pro vided, accurate control may be had to pro duce a variety of designs. For example, the adjustment of the link 65 on the various openings 67, provides for regulating the extent of the in and out motion of the conveyor with respect to the cutter mechanism, whereby the depth of the out may be carefully regulated. T he position of the end of the conveyor pass ing around the roller 32 may be adjusted through the members 55? and 57', thus enabling the fur on the skins to be properly positioned with respect to the knives so that a more uniform and regular cut design n'iay be obtained. By reason of the adjustment 70, and 70, the extent of the in and out movement of the conveyor may be regulated and in addition this adjustment permits a change in position of the bearings supporting the shaft 61 in case it is desired to substitute a diiiierent gear 81 or cams 59, it being understood that a wide ran e in the speed of the conveyor may be obtained by substituting dil ferently sized 81, while various movements of the conveyor with respect to the cutting mechanism may be obtained by substituting diilerently designed cams 59. Compensation for changes in the size of the gear 81 may be proyided through the'adjustment of the bearings 77 through the slot and bolt 76.

It is to be appreciated that the cams 59, as heretofore explained, may have a great many contours to produce ditlerent movements of the conveyor with respect to the knives and thus obtain a great variety of patterns or designs in the fur and also that instead of operating the conveyor continuously an intermittent movement thereof may be provided.

The relative motion of the conve or and the knives is very slight since the fur is not very long. Furthermore, the travel of the conveyor about the rollers 31 and 32 during its in and out bodily movement together with the rise of the cams 59 are so adjusted with respect to each other as to obtain a shearing of the fur to produce the design shown in Fig. 7. Obviously, however, by varying'these two factors as well as the speed of the conveyor and the extent of the bodily movement thereof distinctive designs differing from that shown in Fig. 7, and like those shown in Figs. 3, l, 5 and other designs may be obtained.

From the foregoing it will be readily understood that many designs in the shearing of fur may be attained by slight adjustments to the machine and that the machine is so constructed as to quickly and conveniently be arranged to cut the fur of a slain in any predetermined design and when so adjusted adapted to ope "etc to produce such designs automatically.

The machines illustrated and described are, of course, merely illustrative of a practical embodiment of means for practicing the method and producing the article comprising my invention, it being understood that in its broadest aspect the invention resides in the alteration of a skin to remove fur to produce a pleasing and novel appearance and that other modified machines may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

VVha-t is claimed is:

1. The method of ornamenting the fur surface of pelts which comprises cutting the fur slightly in a straight line and then in steps to follow a convex curve increasing the depth of cut and then in steps following a convex curve decreasing the depth of out and then repeating the operations, whereby the fur surface is formed into a series of waves.

2. The method of ornamenting the fur surface of pelts which comprises cutting the fur slightly in a straight line and then in steps following a reverse curve cutting the fur and at each step increasing the depth of the cut and then following a reverse curve cutting}; the fur and at each step decreasing the depth of the cut, and then repeating these operations, whereby a series of waves will be formed in the fur surface having rounded tops and bottoms.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

FREDERICK HORSTMANN. 

